"Ryuuga." The brunette shakes the dark haired boy who had fallen asleep on his shoulder. "Ryuuga, wake up!" He shoves Ryuuzaki a little too hard, pushing him over into the arm rest on his other side.
The force of the impact wakes him up. "Hnn? Yagami-kun?" Pale hands come up to his dark, under-shadowed eyes. "What happened?"
"It's morning."
"Oh." Ryuuzaki stands and stretches upward, his back angling backward before returning to its normal, slumped position. "Are you ready to go downstairs, Yagami-kun?"
"What, you aren't going to change, or even bathe?"
"No. Why would you ask, Yagami-kun?"
Light shakes his head in mock disbelief. This happens everyday. "You really should pay more attention to your hygiene, Ryuuga." He stands, as well, and leads the way to the bathroom. It is hard to get ready every morning with Ryuuzaki there every second, attached by the wrist.
Downstairs, on the floor of the headquarters, Aizawa sits in his chair before the computer screens. Nobody else is downstairs, not even the chief. 'You get up ridiculously early, Aizawa.' Matsuda had once said in shock before turning over in his bed. It was shockingly early, but Aizawa reasons with himself that Kira doesn't sleep or wake up - he just waits.
"Good morning, Aizawa," comes Light's voice from behind him.
The older man lets out a gruff reply and listens as Light moves to his seat, Ryuuzaki shaking their chain loudly as he sits also. There's extra tension in the air, a result from their fight argument last night. The corner of Aizawa's lip turns up in a smirk as he plays back the memory. They do argue a lot, but certainly not like a married couple. That's for a man and a woman, not a genius high school graduate boy and a hunchback top-notch detective man.
"Have you found anything this morning, Aizawa?" said detective asks.
"Not yet, Ryuuzaki. But it feels like we're about to come to a breakthrough. I feel it."
A strange noise erupts from Light's throat, a mix between a snort and a laugh. Aizawa frowns at this; sometimes, Light's obnoxious attitude kicks in. A snort here, a chuckle there, almost as if he just knows that something's wrong - as if he knows the truth ... as if he's Kira. Aizawa rolls his eyes before grunting,
"Have you found anything, Light?"
"Actually, I was just looking at the patterns of the most recent murders and ... "
"And you noticed how Kira's stopped being so elaborate?"
The group of three turn in their chairs to look at the freshly-awoken Ide, a cup of coffee fit snugly in his hands as he continues, "I noticed that also. It's nothing but heart attacks now. Kira's either getting bored, or he's planning for something big."
"Or Kira has a new accomplice." This time, they all turn to Ryuuzaki, who sits in front of the computers in that odd way he always does. His thumb is against his lower lip, and black eyes glued to the screens.
"What are you getting at, Ryuuga? Do you think this is like the time, when you thought Misa and I were Kira?"
"Yes. But I didn't think that the two of you were Kira. I have the feeling that you are Kira. And that Miss Amane used to be Kira. But now, since the two of you are still under constant surveillance, that there is another Kira, one who works under the orders of someone who was close to the original Kira." His eyes turn to Light, who sits as far away from him as he can with the chain attaching the two together.
"Who would want to work with Kira?" Ide asks, sipping his coffee.
"Believe it or not, Ide, Kira has quite a large number of followers -"
"Like a boy band!" Matsuda chirps.
Ryuuzaki blinks before continuing, "True, but not quite what I was getting to. Anybody could do it. But I'm absolutely positive there's a new Kira - a third, new, and inexperienced Kira."
"Inexperienced? No killer is inexperienced," Light adds in his opinion.
"I meant one who hasn't been doing this as long. One who is new to this game of killing."
Their eyes are all glued on the detective.
"You think this is a game, Ryuuga?" Light is up on his feet, his hands grabbing Ryuuzaki's shirt collar and dragging him up out of the chair. "Killing is nothing to be played with!"
Matsuda's eyes grow wide with horror. He has seen them fight before, but they have never done so in front of the rest of the Task Force. But the two pay no attention to the people who stand around them.
Ryuuzaki's eyes are calm as he looks into the angry eyes of the other boy. "Kira is childish and selfish. He thinks this is just a game, and that he will win. But, he will not win, for there is someone who things nearly exactly the same who opposes him. Another player in this game of justice."
Light's hands loosen on the raven-haired boy's collar. "What are you getting at, Ryuuga?" His eyes still have the same, intense, angry expression.
"I only mean that Kira and I think alike. As do you and I."
Hands release the collar and drop to Light's sides. His eyes are no longer angry, but wary instead. He opens his mouth to say something, but is interrupted when his father makes an outburst.
"Are you saying that you still accuse my son of being Kira, even though you have solid evidence that he isn't?" Now it is Soichiro's eyes that are filled with anger.
"Chief. We don't have solid proof that Light isn't Kira. You said yourself that it was possible that there were more than one, and that they work together," Aizawa answers for Ryuuzaki. Beside him, Ide nods his approval.
Soichiro shakes his head in denial. "So you think that Light is Kira, too, is that it, Aizawa?"
Aizawa doesn't answer, only looks on, watching the chief's expression carefully.
Matsuda stiffens where he stands near Light. As much as he wants to believe that Light isn't Kira, he thinks Ryuuzaki could be right. They don't have absolute proof that the honor student isn't Kira; not even from the time when he was held captive for over a month. But no one notices this innocent, childish police officer. They rarely notice him anyway. He roughly shakes his head and sighs, but doesn't throw in his two cents. Who would listen, anyway? They would just brush him off, like a bug. Moving over to the couch, he takes a seat and relaxes back. Well, relaxes as much as he can.
"Don't worry about it, Dad. Sooner or later I can convince them to believe that I'm innocent." Light pays no attention to the others in the room as he speaks, a reassuring smile on his face. But this smile is fake. He would persuade those who thought he was Kira; stray them away from the truth and make them believe that he isn't Kira, and then he will bring justice down on all who opposed him.
The stressed chief hesitates before nodding to his son; the confidence in Light's voice soothes him more than he expected. The room grows silent again, merely the sound of breathing filling the room. Light and Ryuuzaki continue to stare at each other for a short time before Ryuuzaki turns away. Soichiro leaves, dragging his feet into the elevator.
"Light ..." Matsuda says just above a whisper; he wishes he could voice his opinion on the topic, but knows he would most likely be shunned for it. Being a lot less mature than anyone else in the room is hard, and always fills his mind with doubt and regret.
